FEAR
by RyanStiles4Me
Summary: When Monica is threatened, how will everyone deal? CM mostly, some RJ. I'm bad at summaries. Please R&R! Chapter 6 added finally!
1. The Threat

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Friends or any of these characters. They belong to NBC and all that other legal mumbo-jumbo. This is just fiction based on their wonderful television show.  
  
Time frame: This takes place near the end of season nine. Joey and Rachel are together, although this won't have much to do with them. very much a C/M fic.  
  
Please be kind. this is my first Friends fanfic and the first fanfic at all I've written in years. Please review, and enjoy!  
  
FEAR  
  
Chapter 1 - The Threat  
  
Monica Bing sat in Central Perk alone at the gang's usual area, sipping at a coffee and munching on a muffin. She was musing about her and Chandler's inability to have children, wondering if it would ever happen for them, when her friends Joey and Rachel, who have just recently gotten together, walked in, giggling over some inside joke.  
  
"Hey, guys," Monica greeted them. "How's it going?"  
  
Mon was pleased to see the flushed, happy looks on their faces. For so long, she had hoped Rachel and Ross would be able to get it together, especially after the birth of their baby, but it just didn't seem like it was going to happen. Seeing how happy Rachel and Joey seemed to be, Monica could do nothing but smile. They had her approval.  
  
"We're great, Mon, thanks for asking," Rach said as she and Joey sat down next to her, cuddling close together. They kissed, and Joey went up to the bar to order 2 coffees.  
  
"Sooooo. how did it go when you guys told Ross this afternoon?" Monica asked, eager to gossip.  
  
"Well. he took it kind of badly to start with. but Joey pointed out to him that he wasted no time after Joey and Charlie broke up, and Ross couldn't argue with that. He seemed to realize how happy Joey makes me, and so he gave us his blessing!"  
  
"Rach, that's Igreat!/I"  
  
"I know!"  
  
Joey came over with their coffee, and the trio gossiped for awhile, until Monica decided to go on upstairs and wait for Chandler to come home. She still wanted to keep trying for that baby, even though she and Chandler were considering adoption, and she was at the best part of her cycle for that.  
  
Monica walked up to the apartment, and was surprised to see that the door wasn't shut completely. "That's weird," she murmured, feeling a slight tremor of fear, but brushed it off. Either she had for some reason forgotten to pull it shut all the way, or one of her friends had. There was nothing to worry about.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Monica pushed the door all the way open - and gasped. It was her worst nightmare.  
  
Everything in the apartment was strewn across the furniture and on the floor. What was left of the china Chandler hadn't broken at Thanksgiving was shattered on the kitchen floor, as well as their less expensive tableware. Various pieces of cookware were scattered in the mess. The couch was turned upside down. The television lay on the floor, where it appeared to have been thrown. The closet Monica used for junk was open and half the stuff inside had fallen out into the floor.  
  
Monica fought the urge to scream, and dazedly walked inside. She stood in the middle of the mess and tears began to threaten behind her eyelids. She didn't know what to do. She could see into her and Chandler's bedroom and see the same disaster had been made in there. Upon closer inspection of the things strewn across the floor, she realized most of it was broken or torn. She took a closer look at the upturned sofa and realized that something resembling chocolate sauce had been poured onto it. She felt like she was going to throw up. Almost everything of hers and Chandler's had been ruined.  
  
That's when she saw it. The piece of paper with the knife stabbed into it, on the chair that Chandler and Joey liked to argue over. Shaking, Monica slowly walked over to it. Using a sandwich bag that was in the floor for a glove, she carefully pulled the knife out and picked up the piece of paper.  
  
It read, in typed script:  
  
Dear Monica,  
  
Think this is bad?  
  
Just wait until what is coming.  
  
Soon, you will have no one and nothing left. Then I will come for you.  
  
Love,  
  
Your Friend  
  
The letter drifted to the floor from Monica's hand. She couldn't believe this was happening.  
  
"Mon!" she heard Rachel's voice call. "Do you think you could possibly baby-sit Emma to." she heard Rachel's voice trail off as Rachel walked into the apartment and stop in her tracks. "Monica? Oh my God, what happened?" Rachel shrieked, rushing to Monica's side as she continued to take in the ruined apartment.  
  
"I don't know. I just came in. and it was like this. and then I found this note attached to the chair with the knife." Monica felt like she might faint.  
  
Rachel read the note, her face turning pale as she realized her friend and possibly everyone else had been threatened. "I'm calling the police." She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.  
  
While Rachel did that, Monica wondered, Who would hate me enough to do this to me? 


	2. The Phone Call

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own these characters. Friends is licensed to NBC, or something. anyway, it is not licensed to me. Thanks. (  
  
FEAR  
  
Chapter 2 - The Phone Call  
  
As Rachel talked to the police on her cell phone, Monica began to look for a phone to plug in, since the intruder had destroyed the one they had. Finding one that the intruder hadn't managed to damage, she plugged it in and dialed Chandler at work.  
  
When she finally got put through to Chandler, she greeted him with, "Chandler, please, come home now."  
  
"Why, what's wrong?" he asked quickly, worried.  
  
"Someone broke in today while I was at work. After I got off, I came and had a coffee at Central Perk and came upstairs and when I came in, the entire place had been trashed, and." her voice trailed off.  
  
"What? What else?" Chandler demanded, scared for his wife's safety.  
  
"There was a note."  
  
"What kind of note?"  
  
"Please, Chandler. just come home. The police are on their way."  
  
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Chandler promised. "I love you. Don't worry."  
  
"I love you too." Monica hung up.  
  
By this time, Joey had shown up too, and was quickly filled in by Rachel, who had finished her phone call to the police. Joey looked around the apartment in amazement. The intruder had even smashed the window leading onto the balcony, leaving a huge, spider web type crack. "This place is WRECKED," he exclaimed without thinking, and was quickly hushed by Rachel as Monica finally began to cry.  
  
"I can't believe this," Monica sobbed as Joey and Rachel comforted her. "Who would want to do this to me? To us?"  
  
At that moment, the police rapped on the open door to announce their presence. Monica tried to compose herself.  
  
"Miss Green?" asked the first police officer, a woman. Rachel stood up. "That's me. I'm the one who called, but this isn't my apartment. It belongs to my friends, Monica and Chandler Bing. This is Monica," she said, gesturing to Monica.  
  
The woman crossed the room, followed by her male counterpart. "Mrs. Bing? I'm Officer Jen Lawson and this is Officer Ken Johns. I understand you came home just a little while ago and found your apartment in this state?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am, about thirty minutes ago."  
  
About the time Monica finished explaining what she had found when she came home, including the knife and threatening letter, Chandler ran in. "Oh, my God," he breathed as he looked around his trashed apartment. "Mon? Are you okay?"  
  
Monica ran into his arms. "I'm fine, I'm just scared."  
  
"What's this note you were telling me about?"  
  
"Seems someone left your wife a threatening letter," answered Officer Lawson, holding up two baggies: One with the knife and one with the letter.  
  
"What? What did it say?"  
  
Monica told him, haltingly. Chandler looked disturbed.  
  
"Do either of you have any enemies you can think of who would want to hurt you?" Neither Chandler nor Monica could think of any.  
  
"Well, we will run both of these items for prints. We'll let you know if we find anything. and you let us know if you find anything else out, or anymore threats arise. Good luck," Officer Johns stated. The police officers left.  
  
Monica began to cry again, and Chandler held her tight. "It's okay, honey. they'll find out who did this. There's no way they can get away with it," he said. Inside, he was twisted with worry. Who would want to hurt his beautiful wife?  
  
Monica wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay, well.. We better see what we can do about cleaning this place up."  
  
Joey and Rachel helped them as they tried to restore some order to the place. Nearly everything in the kitchen was ruined - cookware dented, all the dinnerware shattered. They were left with three lone dinner plates, their flatware, and a few pieces of cookware. Monica noticed the one thing that seemed to be missing - her knife set.  
  
"Oh, God," she cried hysterically. "What if the intruder stole that so he could kill me with my own knives for a form of sick irony?" "Mon, no. I'm sure everything will be fine," Rachel said gently. "Just some sicko trying to scare you."  
  
Monica tried to calm down as they continued to try to clean up the apartment. They had to fill up several trash bags to get rid of all the things the intruder had broken or torn. They went into the bedroom and Monica choked back tears as she realized more than half her clothes had been destroyed. The bed, miraculously, had not been disturbed other than to have ripped clothes thrown on it.  
  
Finally, the place had been cleaned up some, enough for them to sleep tonight. It was late, so Joey and Rachel said their goodnights, hugged them both, and said goodnight.  
  
"And don't forget. we're right across the hall if you need anything," Rachel added as they closed the door behind them. Monica automatically locked it and deadbolted it. She took a shaky breath and turned to look at Chandler. He walked to her and hugged her tightly. "I love you Mon. don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you." Monica's response was to tighten her arms around him.  
  
Chandler pulled back, gave her a kiss, and said, "I need a shower. I'll just be a few minutes." Monica nodded, and Chandler walked into the bathroom, making sure he didn't lock the door behind him in case Monica needed him.  
  
Monica sat down on the couch, away from the chocolate stain, as she heard Chandler's shower begin to run. She sighed, looking at what was left of her apartment.. Not much. She couldn't remember ever being this scared before.  
  
She jumped as the phone suddenly began to shrilly ring. She almost laughed at herself as she answered, expecting it to be the police with some news. Maybe they had already caught the intruder. "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, Monica." The hairs on Monica's neck stood up as she realized whoever this was was not the police; they were using a voice changer box.  
  
"Wh-what do y-you want?" she stammered.  
  
"Revenge, you bitch. And it will be sweet. Have you missed your knives yet? I thought it would be nice to kill you and your husband with one of them. After all, it is your fault he will die. Just like it's your own fault you will die."  
  
Monica growled, "Don't you EVER threaten my husband." She heard the water in the shower turn off as Chandler finished his shower.  
  
The voice laughed. "Honey, you are in no position to be telling me what to do."  
  
"Please," Monica begged, "Tell me who you are, what I've done to deserve this."  
  
"You should know," the voice rasped. "Which is why I intend to murder your husband right in front of you, so you can suffer the way you've made me suffer."  
  
"But what did I-"  
  
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!" screamed the voice, silencing Monica. The bathroom door opened and Chandler walked out, and stopped short when he saw the terrified look on Monica's face.  
  
"So, yours must be ruined as well. I haven't decided if I should kill any of your friends or family yet, or if I should come straight to you and Chandler. Just enjoy your last night with your husband, Monica. I promise, it will be the last." The phone clicked off as Monica stared straight ahead, breathing hard.  
  
"Monica? Monica? Are you alright?" Chandler said, coming to her side, grabbing her arms, realizing she seemed to be in a trace. "What's going on? Who's on the phone?"  
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Monica screamed, suddenly coming back to life. "It was the intruder on the phone! He told me that he was going to kill you, in front of me, and then kill me too! I ruined his life, so he has to ruin mine!"  
  
Chandler stared at her, face pale. Slowly, his pale face turned red as he became angry. How dare this wacko say these things to his wife? And threaten her? He would never let anyone touch his beautiful Monica.  
  
"He said tonight would be our last night together," Monica added, breaking into Chandler's thoughts.  
  
"Okay. Listen. What we are going to do is call the police and see if first they can trace the call. Then we're going to wait and listen and do what they say. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Monica said quietly.  
  
"Listen to me. Whoever this is, is not going to hurt us. I love you Monica, and I would never let anyone hurt you."  
  
Chandler picked up the phone to dial the police.  
  
What will happen next? ( 


	3. The Next Morning

Disclaimer: Duh. I do not own these characters (except for police officers Officer Jen Lawson and Officer Ken Johns, which I made up all on my own.) Yep.  
  
Thanks sooooooo much for all the great feedback you guys have given me. I am sorry this has taken so long to update - I have been a very busy girl the last week! I'll try to update more often. Enjoy!  
  
FEAR  
  
Chapter 3: The Next Morning  
  
Chandler hung up the phone. "Officer Lawson was pretty concerned," he informed Monica, "But since we do have to give our permission for anyone to come up, she said she wasn't going to send anyone to stand watch tonight, at least not yet. However, there was some bad news."  
  
"What?"  
  
"They weren't able to lift any fingerprints off of the knife or the note. Whoever did it was pretty thorough."  
  
Monica sighed and sank down into the couch. "I can't believe this. Why would someone want to do this to us? What if the caller was telling the truth? What if he IS planning to kill us?"  
  
The phone rang again, and Monica and Chandler both jumped.  
  
"Don't answer it!" Monica begged, but Chandler picked it up anyway.  
  
"Hello?" he snapped into the phone.  
  
He listened for a moment and his face relaxed. "It's Ross," he told Monica. Monica relaxed as well.  
  
Chandler spoke to Ross for a couple of minutes, and then handed the phone to Monica. "He wants to talk to you." Monica took the phone. "Hey, big brother."  
  
"Monica? Are you okay?" Ross barked. "What's going on? Joey and Rachel called me to tell me there was a problem. They told me what happened earlier. Have you heard from the police?"  
  
Monica relayed what Officer Lawson had told Chandler. "And there was something else too. . ." her voice trailed off, not wanting to worry him anymore than he already was.  
  
"What?" Ross asked. "Tell me!" he added when Monica didn't answer.  
  
Monica took a deep breath and told him about the phone call.  
  
"That's it. I'm coming over there right now."  
  
"No. Just stay there, Ross. You're right over in the next building, you can get here fast enough if we needed you. And Joey and Rachel are right across the hall."  
  
"Fine," Ross said, "But you call me if you need anything." Monica agreed. "I love you Mon. Be careful."  
  
"I love you too, Ross." Monica hung up.  
  
She looked over at Chandler and smiled at him. "Well, the caller did say that tonight would be our last night together. . . so I assume that means that he won't be trying anything tonight. And I'm wiped out. . . but. . . I can't believe I'm thinking about this at a time like this, but I am ovulating right now, and I want to keep trying," she blurted out.  
  
Chandler smiled and reached out to hug her. "Of course. Lead the way, my dear," he said, and Monica took his hand and pulled him into the bedroom.  
  
****************  
  
The next morning, Monica and Chandler woke up in each other's arms. Monica wasn't calm anymore, though. From what the caller had said the night before, today was the day he planned to kill them.  
  
Both Chandler and Monica had called in, both claiming family emergency, not wanting to be away from each other at a time like this.  
  
Around 9 a.m., Monica pulled herself out of bed She walked out of the bedroom and felt assaulted by the sight of her still trashed apartment, although it looked the same as when she and Chandler had gone to bed the night before. She wished they'd gone and stayed at a hotel.  
  
The phone rang, and Monica froze. She didn't want to answer it, but it was like seeing a horrible car accident. You didn't want to look, but you couldn't help it. She picked up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Did you enjoy last night, Monica?" the voice rasped in her ear. "I warned you. . . it was your last with your precious Chandler."  
  
Monica whimpered. "Please, leave us alone," she begged. Chandler, awakened by the phone, came out of the bedroom and walked over to her. Seeing the terrified look on her face, he grabbed the phone out of her hand. "Who the hell is this?" he shouted into the phone.  
  
The voice cackled. "You know me, Chandler. I'm hurt that you've already forgotten me. Just another reason to get rid of you and your insipid wife."  
  
Chandler's blood boiled as his hand gripped the phone receiver so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "You listen to me," he hissed into the phone. "Leave me, and my wife, ALONE. I have had it with you. This isn't funny."  
  
"It's not supposed to be. It's real."  
  
"No, it's not! You're just trying to fuck with us, to get into our heads and scare us. I don't know who you are or what we've done to upset you, but you've gotten your revenge. Now leave us alone," Chandler snapped.  
  
"My revenge is most certainly not complete. It's just a matter of time now, Chandler. Tick-tock, tick-tock. . ." The voice laughed hysterically and then hung up.  
  
Monica burst into tears as Chandler hung up the phone. "I don't know what to do, Chandler, I don't know. . ." Chandler wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I promise, nothing is going to happen to us. I won't let it." But for the first time, he wondered. what if this psycho was really serious about his threats?  
  
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I hope you guys enjoyed that.. I hope it wasn't too boring! I promise, some action is coming soon!! 


	4. The Visit

Disclaimer: Same old song and dance. I do not own these characters. (  
  
Guys, I'm very sorry it has taken me so long to update. I do intend to finish this story but I procrastinate a lot on top of having a lot of schoolwork and having to work a lot. Here is the next chapter. I promise - next chapter is coming soon!! Please R&R.  
  
FEAR Chapter 4 - The Visit  
  
Before long, the entire gang had arrived at Monica and Chandler's apartment to help them clean it up. After making sure everyone knew what was going on, Monica made it clear that she didn't want to spend the whole day discussing it. "After all. . . it's probably nothing. . . Just some psycho trying to scare us," she said, forcing a smile.  
  
Everyone agreed. For awhile, they cleaned while joking around and trying to act like everything was normal. Monica scrounged around and was unable to find enough food that had been spared by the intruder to make lunch, so she ordered Chinese take-out. Phoebe performed several new songs for them, and then said excitedly, "I have news!"  
  
"What? What?" Everyone wanted to know.  
  
"Mike asked me to marry him last night!" she shrieked, holding out her left hand where a diamond ring glittered on it. The gang gasped and crowded around her.  
  
"Details!" Rachel demanded. "We need details, Pheebs! How did it happen? Where did he ask? When did he ask? How may carats is that? It looks like at least 2!!"  
  
"Well, it's the usual romantic atmosphere . . . he picked me up from my apartment, and gave me a dozen red roses. . ."  
  
"Awww!" Monica and Rachel chorused.  
  
"And we went to the Rainbow Room . . ."  
  
"Okay, Pheebs, you just crossed the line of 'usual, ordinary' into 'ridiculously expensive'," Chandler informed Phoebe.  
  
Phoebe giggled. "Well, after we finished dinner and we were drinking a glass of wine. . . he told me how much he loved me, and how glad he was that he didn't lose me, and what an idiot he was to have almost done so. And then he took out the ring and asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes, and. . . now we're engaged! YAY!"  
  
Everyone took turns hugging Phoebe and congratulating her. "I hope you're as happy as Monica and I are," Chandler told her sincerely.  
  
"Me too," Pheebs agreed.  
  
"Well, this is a cause for celebration," Monica said. "I refuse to sit around here all day when you have this fantastic news, Phoebe, just because some psycho is trying to scare me. I say you call Mike, and while we wait on him we'll have coffee at Central Perk. and then we'll all go out to a celebratory dinner."  
  
"Are you sure, Mon?" Ross asked. "We don't have to go anywhere if you don't want to."  
  
"But I do want to!" Monica protested. "I don't want to be scared into staying here for the rest of my life! Life is for living!"  
  
Everyone agreed, and as they were gathering up their things to go, Chandler took Monica aside and quietly said, "I have a few things to do, for work, so I'm going to take care of them first. I'll be down there by the time Mike gets there though; it'll probably take him at least half an hour to get here."  
  
"I can wait for you," Monica started to protest, but Chandler shook his head. "Go on. . .you deserve some fun. . . and I'll be down in a little while."  
  
Monica grudgingly agreed, and they all left except Chandler. Not five minutes later, the intercom buzzed. "Yes?" he said into it.  
  
He listened to the response and frowned. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to hear from you. . . come on up, and we can talk." He buzzed the guest in.  
  
About 45 minutes later, Mike had arrived at Central Perk and everyone was still waiting for Chandler. Monica had been having such a good time she hadn't realized how much time had passed. When she looked at her watch, her chest tightened with worry and fear. "I better go check on Chandler, see what's taking him so long. . .he probably just got caught up in his work." She laughed nervously.  
  
"I'll go with you," Ross said, and they walked up to the apartment together.  
  
When they arrived, Monica took a deep breath and opened the door.  
  
She screamed and Ross gasped.  
  
The apartment was wrecked again. . . only this time it looked like a major struggle had gone on, and the mess was mainly in the kitchen area.  
  
In the middle of the tile was a large pool of blood.  
  
Monica fainted.  
  
More soon. . . I promise!!! 


	5. Awakenings

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own these characters, etc.  
  
I really apologize for how long it has taken me to put up these chapters. There's an awful lot going on in my life right now, but no worries, this fan fic will be finished someday! (  
  
FEAR Chapter 5: Awakenings  
  
Monica moaned.  
  
Colors swarmed around as images flew by. The wrecked apartment. The note stabbed into the chair with the knife. The sound of the voice on the phone. Chandler's face. The pool of blood on the floor.  
  
Her shriek pulled her back to consciousness as she found herself lying on the bed, Ross at her side. "Monica! Are you okay?" Ross asked, grabbing her hand.  
  
Stunned, she stared at him. "It wasn't a dream, was it? Where's Chandler?"  
  
Ross was silent for a moment. "I don't know."  
  
Monica struggled to get up. "Are the police in there? I have to talk to them. They have to find my husband!"  
  
"Mon, don't get up. I'll get them in here. You've been unconscious for awhile . . . you should probably stay lying down."  
  
Ross left the room, and Monica breathed slowly, trying not to hyperventilate. Had that been Chandler's blood in the kitchen? What if he was . . . dead?  
  
A moment later, Officer Lawson entered the room, followed by Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, and Mike. "Monica? How are you feeling? I can call for a bus if you think you need to go to the hospital. You've been out for awhile. We were about to do so anyway."  
  
"No. I'm fine, or I will be. . . I just need to know where Chandler is. Please tell me that that isn't his blood in the kitchen," Monica begged.  
  
"We don't know that for sure yet, Monica. They might not be able to tell whose blood it is at all without samples to compare it to. However, they do know that there are two different blood types there. So if one type belongs to Chandler, the other must belong to his attacker."  
  
Monica looked from each of her friend's faces from another; Rachel's tear- stained face, Joey's face, taut with worry, Ross's concerned face, Phoebe's distressed face, and Mike's troubled face. The sight sickened her. "You all think he's dead," she accused. "He's not. He's not!" She began to sob.  
  
"Oh, Mon," Rachel said, bursting into tears again, and coming to hug her friend. "He's going to be fine," she said between sniffles as they cried on one another's shoulder.  
  
"I promise you, Mrs. Bing, we are doing everything possible to find your husband and bring him home safely," Lawson assured her. "We have our best detectives on this case. We also have tapped your phone in case the attacker decides to call."  
  
At that moment, the phone began to ring, and the room turned deadly silent. Then Monica jumped up and ran for the phone.  
  
"Hello?!" she nearly yelled into it when she picked it up.  
  
A cackle greeted her. "I'm looking at your husband right now, Monica. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps."  
  
"What have you done to him?" she screeched into the phone. "Who are you? Where did you take him? GIVE HIM BACK!"  
  
"What makes you so sure he's still alive?"  
  
Monica's breath caught in her throat.  
  
The voice laughed again. "Okay, okay, he's not dead . . . yet. But that little fucker stabbed me. You'll both pay for that. Unfortunately for him, he only managed to stab my arm. He got the worse end of the deal. He'll be out for awhile. But really, you didn't think that I would kill him without making you watch, did you? I just want to see you squirm first. I have a plan for you two."  
  
And before Monica could get out another word, the voice hung up.  
  
Lawson was already on her cell phone. "Were you able to get a trace?" she asked excitedly, and then frowned. "Okay. Thanks. Keep me posted." She snapped her phone shut. "They couldn't get a trace. The call was too short. They did get it on tape though."  
  
Monica began to cry again.  
  
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Elsewhere in NYC, Chandler was slowly awakening to find himself tied to a chair, with a banging headache and a searing pain in his side. He tried to focus his eyes as he struggled to recall what had happened to him and how the hell he'd ended up here. He knew it must've had something to do with the phone calls he and Monica had been getting. Oh my God. Monica.  
  
"Monica?" he yelled. "MONICA?!"  
  
He finally managed to focus on the room he was in and realized he was in an apartment, but certainly not his. He heard someone sigh impatiently and snap, "Shut up, you dumbass. She's not here yet."  
  
He looked up and upon seeing his attacker, suddenly remembered what had happened. "What - why - how," he sputtered.  
  
"You're an idiot," the attacker scoffed. "You're going to have to wait for Monica to get here before I explain why because she's going to want to know, too, and I HATE repeating myself."  
  
Chandler sat back, replaying what had happened. As soon as he'd shut the door after letting his guest in earlier, he had turned to walk into the living room. He had turned back to face his guest just in time to see the person holding one of Monica's frying pans, about to smash it down on his head. He had ducked, and a fight had ensued, but the attacker had won when a knife was pulled and stabbed into his side. Chandler had cried out in pain, but managed to pull the knife back out and stab at the attacker. All he had managed to hit was the attacker's arm before the attacker had smashed the pan into his head, knocking Chandler out cold.  
  
Now his attacker's words were starting to settle in his mind. "What do you mean, Monica's coming here? Leave her out of it! Do what you want to me, but leave my wife alone," he demanded.  
  
The attacker just laughed.  
  
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After Officer Lawson left hours later, promising to have a police car stationed outside of the apartment building all night, Monica decided she needed to try to sleep. "I'm not doing Chandler any good if I can't focus because I'm too tired, and it's almost 3 a.m."  
  
"I'm staying here with you," Ross said immediately. The others followed suit, but Monica shook her head. "Ross is all I need. The rest of you. go home. Get some sleep. I'll call you if I need you." Monica was trying to stay calm now after her outburst earlier, but mentally she was becoming unglued. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep but she couldn't stand having everyone here anymore. She needed time to herself.  
  
Finally, about 30 minutes later, everyone had left but Ross. Monica got him some blankets and he settled down on the couch as she went into her bedroom. She began to cry again as she laid down into her bed alone, and eventually cried herself to a tortured sleep.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - In the next chapter: The attacker's identity is finally revealed! 


	6. Revelations

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A/N: Okay, so it's been two and a half years since I updated this story, but who's keeping count? At least this way those of you who haven't seen this before can read it all at once.  

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Friends.

Chapter 6: Revelations 

Monica awakened in her bed the next morning, alone. Her sleep had been interrupted throughout the night by nightmares of what might be happening to Chandler. Finally at about six a.m., she crawled out of bed.

Ross was still sleeping on the couch. She crept past him to avoid waking him and went to turn on her coffee maker; she was going to need all the caffeine she could get to stay strong. When she walked past the door, though, she noticed a white envelope under it. With shaking hands, she picked it up and opened it. A note, written in block type, was inside.

"Monica,

Your husband is losing a lot of blood fast – he is on his way to a slow and painful death. If you want to see him again before he dies, meet me at the old abandoned warehouse at the address below. Don't tell anyone where you're going, especially not the police, or I will make sure he dies. Don't be stupid. Be here by noon or he's dead."

Monica looked at the address – it was not far from her apartment, only about six blocks away. She didn't want to leave without telling anyone where she was going, but she was afraid that the attacker was serious and would kill Chandler if she told anyone. She glanced worriedly at Ross, still sleeping on the sofa. She slipped back into the bedroom, quickly dressed, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She didn't notice, but she dropped the note on the stairs outside of the apartment in her haste to get to Chandler.

Chandler awakened suddenly. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness all night. He knew he was still losing blood – his wound had continued to slowly bleed throughout the night, and he knew he was in trouble. Still, he prayed that Monica wouldn't arrive, sure that his attacker would kill them both.

He heard a cackle and looked over to see the attacker looking at him with a smirk. "Have a nice nap?" she inquired. She walked over to him and checked her watch. "It's about 6:15 a.m.," she commented. "I think Monica should be here soon. I gave her till noon, but I'm willing to bet she was up early this morning. Hopefully she wasn't stupid enough to contact the police before coming."

"Please don't hurt my wife," Chandler said hoarsely. "Listen, Wendy, I don't know why you're doing this, but you've never even met Monica. Don't punish her because I pissed you off in some way."

"You have to be joking," Wendy retorted. "You seriously don't know why I would be angry with you? Listen, Chandler, no man rejects me. You're only the second one to have done so – and believe me, the first guy paid dearly." She stared at him, and for the first time Chandler noticed the wild look in her eyes.

"You're crazy," Chandler whispered, staring at her. "Out of your mind."

"Do you really want to insult me, Chandler? I'm holding all the cards here, so try not to piss me off any more, mmmkay?"

Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door of the warehouse. Chandler's heart jumped into his throat as Wendy, armed with both a knife and a gun, went to the door. She opened it a little and peered out, then smiled and opened it wide. Monica walked into the dimly lit warehouse, wide-eyed. She stared at Wendy for a few seconds, and then her gaze lighted on Chandler. She gasped and rushed to his side.

"Oh, my God! Chandler! Are you okay! What did she do to you?" She threw her arms around him, and then cried out when she noticed all the blood on his right side, and the huge lump on the side of his forehead.

"I'm okay, Monica, but you have to get out of here," Chandler said urgently. "She's crazy and you have to save yourself. Get out!"

"Take one step towards that door and I'll kill him," Wendy said calmly, walking to where Monica was holding on to Chandler for dear life.

Monica stood up and stood between Wendy and Chandler. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I've never even seen you before. Why are you doing this to us?"

"Maybe you've never seen me before, but perhaps you should ask your husband where he knows me from."

Monica looked at Chandler. "We worked together in Tulsa," he said quietly. "On the Christmas Eve that I quit my job, Wendy tried to convince me that I should forget about you because you were so far away, and that we should sleep together. I told her no, and I told her about you, and how much I loved you, and you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever had the fortune of loving me. That was a big reason that I quit my job that night."

Before Monica could respond, there was an anguished shriek from Wendy. They whipped around to look at her; she was pointing her gun at them. "No one EVER rejects me!" she shouted. "You'll BOTH pay for Chandler's mistake!"

Monica clung to Chandler; his hands were tied together behind his back or he would have been clutching her as well. Regardless, they were bound as one as they both dreaded that Wendy might end their lives here and now.


End file.
